When pondering what it cost Jesus to bear our sin, it is impossible to fully understand and grasp the astonishing aspect of what Jesus did for mankind. As a result, we have to admit we are often guilty of having a very limited understanding about this is our ignorance and only seeing this from our distorted earthly perspective – we believe there is far more to this than we can ever presently imagine.
The gospels indicate that Jesus willingly left aside His position with the Father in heaven to come to earth to become fully human. During this time, He chose to lay aside some of His divine attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence and suffer a torturous death on our behalf whilst remaining fully righteous and sinless. A number of passages indicate Jesus was fully reliant on His Father via the Holy Spirit during His earthly ministry – he temporarily surrendered many of His Godly attributes as He lived life as a perfect role model for us and so that He could present Himself a perfect sacrifice on mankind’s behalf.
We can usually process this and while Jesus’ suffering is truly terrible in its own right, many people have suffered unimaginable and possibly even more gruesome deaths throughout history than Jesus endured Himself. Furthermore, Jesus is now back in heaven at the right hand of the Father in a brand new resurrected body as if nothing ever happened, isn’t he?
Maybe it’s not quite as simple – we don’t think it is possible to have any capacity to comprehend the full cost of not only what Jesus endured, but furthermore what Jesus PERMANENTLY gave up on our behalf. We suspect Jesus will eternally bear marks of His death (in His resurrected body) as an everlasting reminder of what He gave. We suspect that every time Jesus lovingly lifts His hands, we will be reminded of the extreme cost of our ransom. We suspect that when Jesus returns in judgment, every eye will see the scars the Lord will bear forever and will not be able to answer for sin when a free payment was made, that only needed to be accepted. We suspect that Jesus permanently set aside some previous attributes or feature of His existence to be restored with mankind and that those saved through Him will have an eternity to adore and worship Him for this as their King. This transcript of a Charles Spurgeon sermon provides a fascinating insight into this topic.
We have no trouble understanding the temporary loss of position and the willingness to suffer unbearably for mankind – and for this, we can only humbly surrender to our Saviour in adoration. When we meet our Lord face to face, we may come to learn that there were some everlasting implications of what Jesus gave up for us – we believe this will add a multitude of dimensions to what Jesus has done for mankind and we suspect this we leave us deeply shocked and truly astonished! With this in mind, let us encourage you to live a life worthy of two things: 1) The physical and emotional cost of what Jesus bore from our earthly perspective and 2) The anticipation of seeing the cost of what Jesus bore from a heavenly perspective which will reveal how infinitely valuable we are to our holy and loving Saviour. Surely, we can only respond by humbly submitting ourselves to Lord Jesus as we await that day!
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:11-13)
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